Viacom Profit Up in Q2 on Media Networks’ Growth

Viacom beat Wall Street expectations for the second fiscal quarter that ended in March, posting a 24 percent increase in adjusted net earnings thanks largely to higher affiliate revenues at its media networks.

The owner of Paramount, as well as cable networks including MTV and Comedy Central, reported that adjusted net earnings from continuing operations climbed 24 percent to $535 million compared to the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were up 36 percent to 98 cents per share, beating analysts expectations' of 89 cents.

Media networks, which include the cable stations, had revenue growth of 5 percent, to $2.19 billion. It was driven mostly by an increase in affiliate fee revenues, partially offset by a decrease in ancillary revenue, Viacom said. Domestic advertising revenues increased just 1 percent.

The company's Nickelodeon hs struggled in for the last two quarters with lower Nielsen ratings.

Filmed entertainment revenues decreased 5 percent to $1.17 billion, reflecting lower theatrical and television license fee revenues, which were partially offset by higher ancillary revenues. Worldwide theatrical revenues decreased 19 percent as a slate of films, which were generally not as widely distributed as those released in the same quarter last year, failed to match the previous' films success. The recent quarter's releases included "The Devil Inside," "Jeff, Who Lives at Home," and the box-office bomb "A Thousand Words." The previous quarter's included such hits as "Rango" and "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never."